Staff Profile

Dr Javier Abellón-Ruiz is a Research Associate in the Biosciences Institute at Newcastle University.

He completed his PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of Murcia (Spain), where he studied stress response and gene regulation in Myxococcus xanthus. Since then, he has worked across research institutions in Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, developing an interdisciplinary research profile spanning molecular microbiology, biochemistry, and structural biology.

His research career has included work on bacterial gene regulation, DNA replication, glycan metabolism, and membrane protein structure–function relationships in Gram-negative bacteria.

Education and Qualifications

• PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of Murcia, Spain (2012)
• MSc in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Murcia, Spain (2008)
• BSc in Biology, University of Murcia, Spain (2006)

Dr Javier Abellón-Ruiz’s research combines molecular microbiology, structural biology, and biochemistry to investigate nutrient acquisition and membrane-associated processes in Gram-negative bacteria, particularly members of the human gut microbiota.

His current work focuses on the molecular mechanisms of cobamide (vitamin B12-related cofactor) uptake and utilisation in Bacteroides species, integrating microbial genetics, protein biochemistry, X-ray crystallography, and cryo-electron microscopy.

His broader research interests include bacterial physiology, membrane protein biology, microbial adaptation, and host–microbe interactions, with a particular interest in how nutrient acquisition shapes microbial ecology and fitness in the gut environment.

Research Areas

• Molecular Microbiology
• Structural Biology
• Gram-negative Bacteria
• Host–Microbe Interactions
• Membrane Protein Biology

Google Scholar: link

• Articles

  • Abellon-Ruiz J, Pacheco-Gomez R, Watts J, Hart A, Hirt RP, Basle A, van den Berg B. BtuJ1, a Surface-exposed B₁₂-binding Protein in Bacteroidota, Functions as an Extracellular Vitamin Reservoir That Enhances Fitness. Journal of Molecular Biology 2026, 438(11), 169754.
  • Al-Jourani O, Benedict ST, Ross J, Layton AJ, van der Peet P, Marando VM, Bailey NP, Heunis T, Manion J, Mensitieri F, Franklin A, Abellon-Ruiz J, Oram SL, Parsons L, Cartmell A, Wright GSA, Basle A, Trost M, Henrissat B, Munoz-Munoz J, Hirt RP, Kiessling LL, Lovering AL, Williams SJ, Lowe EC, Moynihan PJ. Identification of D-arabinan-degrading enzymes in mycobacteria. Nature communications 2023, 14(1), 2233-.
  • Abellon-Ruiz J. Forward or backward, that is the question: phospholipid trafficking by the Mla system. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences 2023, 7(1), 125-135.
  • Abellon-Ruiz J, Jana K, Silale A, Frey AM, Baslé A, Trost M, Kleinekathöfer U, van den Berg B. BtuB TonB-dependent transporters and BtuG surface lipoproteins form stable complexes for vitamin B₁₂ uptake in gut Bacteroides. Nature Communications 2023, 14, 4714.
  • Putnam EE, Abellon-Ruiz J, Killinger BJ, Rosnow JJ, Wexler AG, Folta-Stogniew E, Wright AT, van den Berg B, Goodman AL. Gut Commensal Bacteroidetes Encode a Novel Class of Vitamin B12-Binding Proteins. mBio 2022, 13(2), e02845-21.
  • Bernal-Bernal D, Abellón-Ruiz J, Iniesta AA, Pajares-Martínez E, Bastida-Martínez E, Fontes M, Padmanabhan S, Elías-Arnanz M. Multifactorial control of the expression of a CRISPR-Cas system by an extracytoplasmic function σ/anti-σ pair and a global regulatory complex. Nucleic Acids Research 2018, 46(13), 6726-6745.
  • Abellon-Ruiz J, Zahn M, Basle A, van den Berg B. Crystal structure of the Acinetobacter baumannii outer membrane protein Omp33. Acta Crystallographica Section D: Structural Biology 2018, 74(9), 852-860.
  • Abellón-Ruiz J, Kaptan SS, Baslé A, Claudi B, Bumann D, Kleinekathöfer U, van den Berg B. Structural basis for maintenance of bacterial outer membrane lipid asymmetry. Nature Microbiology 2017, 2, 1616-1623.
  • Abellon-Ruiz J, Ishino S, Ishino Y, Connolly BA. Archaeal DNA Polymerase-B as a DNA Template Guardian: Links between Polymerases and Base/Alternative Excision Repair Enzymes in Handling the Deaminated Bases Uracil and Hypoxanthine. Archaea 2016, 2016, 1510938.
  • Abellón-Ruiz J, Waldron KJ, Connolly BA. Archaeoglobus Fulgidus DNA Polymerase D: A Zinc-Binding Protein Inhibited by Hypoxanthine and Uracil. Journal of Molecular Biology 2016, 428(14), 2805-2813.
  • Abellon-Ruiz J, Bernal-Bernal D, Abellan M, Fontes M, Padmanabhan S, Murillo FJ, Elias-Arnanz M. The CarD/CarG regulatory complex is required for the action of several members of the large set of Myxococcus xanthus extracytoplasmic function σ factors. Environmental Microbiology 2014, 16(8), 2475-2490.
  • García-Heras F, Abellón-Ruiz JO, Murillo FJ, Padmanabhan SO, Elías-Arnanz MO. High-Mobility-Group A-Like CarD Binds to a DNA Site Optimized for Affinity and Position and to RNA Polymerase To Regulate a Light-Inducible Promoter in Myxococcus xanthus. Journal of Bacteriology 2013, 195(2), 378-388.
  • Iniesta AA, García-Heras F, Abellón-Ruiz J, Gallego-García A, Elías-Arnanz M. Two Systems for Conditional Gene Expression in Myxococcus xanthus Inducible by Isopropyl-β-d-Thiogalactopyranoside or Vanillate. Journal of Bacteriology 2012, 194(21), 5875-5885.
  • García-Moreno D, Abellón-Ruiz J, García-Heras F, Murillo FJ, Padmanabhan S, Elías-Arnanz M. CdnL, a member of the large CarD-like family of bacterial proteins, is vital for Myxococcus xanthus and differs functionally from the global transcriptional regulator CarD. Nucleic Acids Research 2010, 38(14), 4589-4598.